The present invention relates to a disk brake which is advantageously used for applying a braking force to, for example, a vehicle.
A disk brake generally comprises a carrier which includes a connecting portion fixedly mounted on a non-rotational portion of a vehicle body and a pair of arms extending from the connecting portion across a disk so as to be spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the disk. A caliper is supported by the carrier so as to be movable along the axis of the disk.
The caliper comprises a cylinder portion having a bore for receiving a piston for braking, a bridging portion extending from the cylinder portion across the disk and a claw portion extending from the bridging portion toward the center of the disk. The caliper further comprises two mounting portions for securing pins which are slidably supported in the arms of the carrier.
During braking, the bridging portion of the caliper receives a bending moment. Therefore, a problem arises, that a brake pad at an inner side of the disk, which is in contact with the disk during braking, receives high contact pressure at a portion thereof on the entrance side with respect to the rotation direction of the disk (on a side on which the disk enters the brake pad), leading to an increase in amount of wear at that portion of the pad. As a countermeasure for this problem, it has been known to offset the center of the cylinder portion from the center between the two mounting portions toward a side opposite to the entrance side, i.e., the exit side with respect to the rotation direction of the disk. By this arrangement, the above-mentioned problem is solved to a certain degree, but cannot be completely overcome. Thus, it has been desired to develop a further improved disk brake to avoid the above-mentioned problem.